


Aftermath

by peggywrites



Category: Lupin III
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Fainting, Hurt/Comfort, LUPIN III THE FIRST SPOILERS, Other, Spoilers for the new CGI movie, if you havent seen it?? probably shouldn't read this, lupin passed tf out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-19
Updated: 2020-06-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:47:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24808009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peggywrites/pseuds/peggywrites
Summary: After the events of The First, Jigen has to confront his feelings, and Lupin, about watching Lupin almost die (again).
Relationships: Ishikawa Goemon XIII/Jigen Daisuke, Ishikawa Goemon XIII/Jigen Daisuke/Arsène Lupin III, Jigen Daisuke/Arsène Lupin III, it's ya boys
Comments: 4
Kudos: 104





	Aftermath

**Author's Note:**

> Heyo! So I've been watching The First non-stop since I got my hands on it. Again, SPOILERS for the movie if you haven't seen it. This drabble is pretty much a 'what happened right after the movie ended' kind of drabble. Also thank God for The First taking place in like, the late 60s early 70s, I can't write the gang having smart phones.
> 
> I found it a little odd that Lupin didn't appear more roughed up or tired after almost dying ( though ofc you had to end the movie so I get it ), so I decided to whip up a little fic for the aftermath. Enjoy general 'the gang cares about each other' angst.

“It looks like Zenigata is turning around.” Goemon’s calm and collected voice pulled Jigen away from where he was trying to paddle through the water with his hands. The gunman sat up, gripping the edges of the boat as he watched the ICPO boat turn around, a feat not so easy with so many officers on it.

“I guess Pops finally realized Laetitia needed a ride home.” Jigen chuckled, moving over to the back to attempt to wave away some of the smoke with his hat. “Good. I’d hate for her to need to call the coast guard or something.” Laetitia had helped them in so many ways. She was a smart kid who had one of the brightest futures Jigen could think of. College wouldn’t be easy, but Laetitia had a passion not a lot of people had, she’d be just fine.

“Mmmh.” Is all Lupin said from where he sat at the wheel.

Jigen turned, looking over to spot Lupin looking, well, rather deflated. Disappointed. His shoulders were slack and his chin dipped into his chest. Jigen had seen that look before. It was the same look he had after they left Cagliostro, after they left Princess Clarisse behind. Though, that exit seemed a lot more graceful than the situation they were in now. But he knew Lupin, probably better than anyone, even more so than Fujiko or Goemon. He knew how hard it was for him to leave people behind, especially people he’s learned to care about. 

“Hey, you did the right thing.” Jigen offered, taking the time to lounge on the seats in the back. He kicked out his legs, draping one over the other as he stretched out, and he placed his hands behind his head. “And now that Pops is going back for her, she’ll be back in Paris and at that presentation in no time.” He stated confidently, hoping some of it would cheer his friend up. 

Lupin simply shrugged his heavy shoulders, and Jigen chalked it up to him just being upset. Their small boat continued towards the sunset, and hopefully towards land. What Jigen wouldn’t give for a nice soft bed to sleep in. The day’s battle against the Nazis of Ahnenerbe was tough. While he took down a room full of men without hesitation and without problem, he still would like nothing more than to crawl into bed. 

There was a small chime that made his head pop up, and he reached into his jacket pocket to pull out his radio. It had a small, pixilated screen attached to it and by the looks of it, they were getting close to shore. “Alright! Guess who just got a bar?” He said proudly, holding up the small machine. “Let’s fine a hotel by the beach, I am going to drink that mini-bar dry and watch movies all day tomorrow.” Jigen sighed, a bit exaggerated to sound whimsical. “Oi, Lupin? Think they got good movies at a Brazil hotel?” He asked, leaning over to try and catch a glimpse at Lupin’s face.

But his friend again, said nothing, and looked even more dejected than before. His hands had moved to the bottom of the steering wheel and it looked like he was hardly holding on.

“I’m sure whatever movies are there; they are quite adequate.” Goemon stated, sounding like he was trying to be helpful. “I think it would be a wise not to stay too long through. Zenigata will most likely come for us as soon as he makes sure Laetitia is safe. A day should be fine, but we should keep movie.”

“Geez, you’re a killjoy.” Jigen snickered, making Goemon’s stoic face scrunch up and go red. But he would admit that Goemon had a point. He wasn’t even sure the three of them had enough money to stay at a hotel more than one day. He should’ve grabbed something expensive like Fujiko did and just pawn it off once they got there. “But I see your point. We’ll take tomorrow to just relax. I think we deserve it. Right, Lupin?” 

Lupin, again, said nothing. Jigen turned, exchanging a worried glance with Goemon. The samurai shrugged, gesturing to Lupin with his head. Jigen sighed, he stood up as carefully as he could without rocking the boat and moved over behind Lupin. 

“Look,” he started with a soft sigh, taking a small drag out of his lit cigarette and blowing the smoke out from his nose. “I know that was hard for you. Leaving her behind and all.” Jigen slipped his hands into his pockets. “But you were right, her coming with us wouldn’t have been a good idea. She has a big future ahead of her. Getting her into college is the best thing you could’ve done for her.” He turned to Goemon, who gave a small thumbs up. Good. Jigen never knew if he was good at these kinds of speeches. “Cheer up, Lupin.” He took a hand and grabbed Lupin’s shoulder, giving him a playful shake. “We can send her letters every now and then, just like we do with Cagliostro. We can even go to her graduation. I’m sure that will make her happy.” He offers Lupin a smile, thought the thief doesn’t turn around to see it. Instead, he gives Lupin a pat on the shoulder before pulling his hand away. 

While he had planned on moving to sit back down, his plan abruptly ends as Lupin slid from the driver’s seat of the boat and fell limp to the deck of the boat. 

“ _Lupin!_ ” Goemon and Jigen’s words escape them at the same time. Jigen is immediately on his knees and Goemon is standing up right, the boat lurching with the sudden movement.

“Lupin? Oi, Lupin!!” Jigen can’t keep his voice from shouting or shaking with sudden emotion. He grabbed Lupin’s sleeves, turning him over so that the thief’s head rested within the crook of his elbow. After the chaos of everything, Jigen hadn’t gotten a good look at his friend’s face or body, and he looked bad.

Lupin’s jacket was torn and dirtied, his knuckles and hands were red, and his face looked like it had taken most of the beating. His cheekbones were red and bruised, his forehead had a pretty nasty cut on it, and his neck had been peppered with horrible looking bruises. What happened on that plane? What did that man do to Lupin? Why did Lupin have to wait until the last minute to get out of there like he always did?

“Lupin! Hey! You can’t do this again!” Jigen shouted, gripping his friend’s slack face with his free hand. Fear sized his chest and squeezed his heart like a vice. He already watched Lupin almost die in that explosion of the Eclipse, he wasn’t going to let him die now. He looked up, realizing that Lupin’s fall had turned the wheel and was now making them go sideways. “Goemon, quick!” He pointed to the wheel. “We have to get to shore now!” 

“Jigen -!”

“Now! Please!” He hated how terrified he sounded, but he looked up at Goemon and the samurai appeared just as concerned as he did. Goemon nodded and carefully moved around the two to sit down in the driver’s seat. His driving with the fiat had been shoddy at best, but Jigen trusted him to get them to the shore. The boat leveled back out in no time, and Goemon directed them towards the ever-growing skyline in the distance, taking every moment or so to look back at his friends.

“C’mon, Lupin.” Jigen began checking Lupin for any injuries he couldn’t see. A bullet hole, a stab wound, something that would help this make sense. Every second or two he would go to check Lupin’s face, just to see if he were awake, if this was some sick joke and he was going to break out in a fit of giggles, teasing the two of them for caring about him so much. Jigen would give anything for Lupin to wake up, he’d take his partner’s teasing in a heartbeat. But there were no wounds and no hint of humor from his friend. He was just completely passed out in Jigen’s arms. He was breathing, that part was a relief, but the fear that gripped Jigen would not stop him from imagining and panicking every time he thought Lupin’s heaving chest had suddenly stopped. 

Jigen’s head was so clouded, he hadn’t even realized they were at a dock or that the sun had set completely and now stars dazzled the sky. Goemon leapt out of the boat to tie it to one of the posts and Jigen tried his best to rouse Lupin awake. But the thief stayed quiet and he stayed unconscious. A desperate whimper escaped Jigen as he tried to think of what to do, but Goemon jumped into the boat again and placed a firm hand on his shoulder.

“I will carry Lupin. You find a hotel for us to stay.” Jigen was shocked at how calm and collected the samurai was being. He looked worried, but he didn’t look like he was on the verge of falling apart like he felt. The gunman nodded, nervous to leave the two alone, but climbed onto the dock and jogged past a few people tying up their own sea vessels. 

There were plenty of hotels along the beach to pick from, but Jigen knew how disappointed Lupin would be if he woke up in some ratty old shack. So, the gunman picked out a fancy looking hotel on the beach and went inside. He wiped his feet on the carpet, not wanting to drag more sand in than people already had, and he quickly walked up to the counter. The conversation is a bit of a blur that he’ll give his panic credit for. He fumbled out broken Portuguese until the woman at the desk took pity on him and pulled over her friend that can thankfully speak English. He bought a room for tonight and tomorrow with a credit card he’s sure he snatched from an ICPO officer earlier that day. He can’t really remember right now. He took three keys with a thank you and rushed back outside to the docks. 

Goemon is waiting with a limp Lupin held protectively in his arms. Zantetsuken had been placed within the loop of his kimono. Jigen doesn’t need to say anything, as the samurai is already walking towards him with a purpose. This isn’t how Jigen pictured they would be spending their night. He imagined going out to drink, celebrating saving the world when no one would even know they were in danger. But the people along the streets were beginning to make him mad. None of them even seemed to notice Lupin as they walked in, probably guessing he just drank too much. 

Jigen’s shaking hands manage to hit the elevator button and unlock the door to their hotel once they reach it. The room is bigger than most in the hotel. It has a living room with a bedroom with a queen-sized bed on the other side of a door. Goemon walked through it and set Lupin on the bed. Jigen began moving to help, but Goemon pointed to the bathroom instead. A wordless order, but they’ve been through this enough times to know the routine. 

Jigen’s shoes click on the tile of the bathroom floor as he takes one of the fluffy hand towels and shoves it under the faucet once he turned in the cold water. The feeling hits his hands and makes him shiver. He looked up for a moment, catching his reflection in the mirror and pulled his hat further over his terrified eyes. He squeezed the wash cloth so it wasn’t soaked and walked back over to the bed room. Goemon had taken off Lupin’s shoes, his red jacket, and his holster and set them aside on a nearby chair. Jigen walked around to where Lupin was and went to work wiping away all the dirt, blood, and grime from his hands. Then he turned the towel over to do the same to his face. 

His hands were shaking and he hated it. It shouldn’t be easy for him to come apart like this, yet here he is, terrified out of his mind. Jigen tried taking a deep breath, but the air got caught in his lungs and didn’t help calm him down at all. Looking down at Lupin’s slack, almost completely calm face, made his stomach turn. His partner looked so unlike himself. 

Why did he have to do it? 

Jigen was there. He could’ve gotten on the plane with Lupin. That way he could’ve helped him stop the Eclipse and take care of that Nazi asshole within minutes. Lupin probably talked for too long. He probably boasted and teased the silver haired bastard. He probably explained how he tricked him in excessive detail. He probably tried escaping and got caught. He probably got into a fight with the other man, but Jigen knew Lupin. Lupin fought on the defensive side. He didn’t attack people or hurt them unless it was necessary, Hell, he probably tried NOT to hurt the guy, even though he was trying to kill them. Jigen didn’t know what was going on within his partner’s head most of the time. He didn’t know why he thought it was okay to leave them all behind and face terrible odds by himself. He didn’t know -

“Jigen.” Goemon’s hand on his shoulder made him jump. The samurai was looking at him through narrowed, concerned eyes, and Jigen realized he hadn’t moved in who knows how long. 

The gunman looked down at Lupin, still slack and unmoving, and something in his chest seized him. He squeezed his eyes shut and shoved the wash cloth into Goemon’s hands before pushing past him and out of the bed room. 

The sensation in his chest wouldn’t let him breathe. Jigen fumbled for the sliding door of the balcony and threw it open, sucking in a giant breath of air. He stumbled outside, gripping the railing until his knuckles turned white and he gasped. His chest rose up and down with ragged breaths and he tried to breath. But each one was too short and left him gasping for another. He wanted to reach for a cigarette, to let smoke fill his lungs and warm him, hopefully calm him, but he couldn’t get his hands off the railing. He couldn’t stop his head from swimming. _He couldn’t breathe._

“Jigen!” Hands grabbed him from behind and suddenly he was being spun around. His back hit the railing of the balcony and he had to reach to grab his hat before it went flying off. Goemon was looking at him, worried, but stern. 

“I can’t -“ Jigen wheezed out, reaching forward to grip Goemon’s sleeves. 

“You need to calm down.” Goemon said, a lot more softly than Jigen expected him to. “You have to breathe or you’ll faint as well.” 

“I can’t -“ Jigen stated again, but Goemon pulled him inside, shutting the door behind them. 

“You can. Just try to take a deep breath.” Goemon instructed by doing so himself, but Jigen shook his head back and forth. “What is it? What’s wrong? Are you hurt too?” He insisted. But Jigen brought his head down and squeezed his eyes shut.

 _“I can’t do this anymore!”_ He finally managed to say. The sentence burst out of his chest and made him sob, unable to stop itself.

“What?”

“I can’t, I can’t do it. I can’t watch him die again.” Jigen pressed his forehead to Goemon’s chest, knowing it was better to avoid eye contact with the samurai, lest he want to burst into tears at his friend’s concerned face. “Why? Why does he do it?”

“Jigen.” Calm hands rubbed over his shoulders. “I’m sure Lupin does not mean for it to worry you. He doesn’t mean -“

“Bullshit.” Jigen cut in, gripping tightly to the material of Goemon’s clothes. “He went off on his own. You know how he is. He thinks he has to prove himself. He thinks he has to do everything on his own, but it only gets him hurt or almost killed. I can’t do it anymore.” 

“You know how this is. Danger comes with the job.”

“But it shouldn’t come with friends.” Jigen sniffled. “I shouldn’t be forced to watch my friends die. I shouldn’t worry about whether or not Lupin going out is the last time I’m going to see him. I can’t do it - I can’t do it, Goemon, I -“ 

“Guys?” A third voice tore Jigen’s head up. He and Goemon looked to see Lupin standing in the doorway between the living room and the bedroom. His hand held the washcloth to his forehead, and his other arm was propped up against the door frame.

“Lupin.” Goemon looked at Jigen before returning his gaze to the thief. “You should be resting.”

“Resting?” Lupin blinked in surprise, like it was a mystery. “What happened? Where are we?”

“In a hotel near the docks.” The samurai explained while Jigen kept his gaze away from his partner. “You fainted on the boat and we rented a room.”

“Oh!” Lupin’s voice was far too normal, far too peppy, too happy. “Well, you two sure picked out a nice spot.” Jigen didn’t have to look up to know that Lupin had entered the living room and was now looking around. “Though I bet Pops is right behind us, isn’t he?”

“Pops turned around to go get Laetitia.” Jigen mumbled. “He’s probably on his way to Paris. I’d give us a day.”

Lupin hummed and Jigen could feel his partner’s gaze upon him. 

“Jigen?” He turned to see Lupin reaching out a hand. “Are you okay -?”

“Don’t touch me!” He smacked Lupin’s hand away, causing a very shocked expression from the thief as the washcloth hit the floor.

“Jigen, you’re _crying_.” He began.

“Shut up! You don’t get to be concerned about how _I_ feel!” Jigen pointed his finger at Lupin, who was now holding his hands out in front of him in defense. “You’ve got a lot of nerve pulling what you did with the plane!” Jigen continued. “What were you doing up there? Why did you wait until the very last second to get out?”

“I - well, I -“ Lupin looked down, looking almost ashamed. “I didn’t know if I was going to get out of there.” He admitted.

It only made Jigen growl. “So what? You gave up? You only got out of there by chance? Why didn’t you let me come along? I could’ve helped you!”

“It was dangerous, Jigen!” Lupin stated. “You could’ve gotten hurt!”

“ _You’re_ hurt!” He couldn’t stop his voice from breaking. “Jesus, Lupin. Do you even care? Do you even _think_ about how you dying would affect us?”

“Of course I do Jigen, but -“

“But what?! Stop throwing yourself into situations you think you need to handle by yourself! Jesus! I can’t watch you die anymore!” Jigen reached up and clamped his hands over his hat, pressing it head against the top of his head. “I can’t do this anymore. Why do you keep doing this to us? Why do you think you have to be the hero? We’re here for you, we’re here to help you! Damn it. We _care_ about you! Why can’t you see that we care? Why can’t you see that I -“ 

Lupin didn’t let him finish. Suddenly the thief had rushed forward and wrapped his arms around Jigen, clutching him tightly and pressing their chests together.

“S - stop it. What are you doing?” Jigen hissed harshly, but he made no move to push Lupin away. 

“I’m hugging you.” Lupin stated, resting his chin on Jigen’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, Jigen. I’m sorry, Goemon.” He said softly, and it made Jigen’s shutter. “On the plane, I really, really thought that was it. I thought I was done. I didn’t think of you guys and it was wrong.” 

That made Jigen want to punch the thief in the face. Lupin apologizing was enough to make him break out in hives. But he couldn’t move, not when Goemon had moved in to wrap his arms around the two, locking them in place.

“I didn’t mean for it to happen.” Lupin continued. “You two and Fujiko and Pops, I - I never want to hurt you. I’m sorry.”

Jigen stiffened as Lupin hugged him tighter. He should push him away, yell at him that sorry doesn’t cut it, put him in a headlock and tell him that it wouldn’t make up for what Lupin had put in through and would inevitably put him through in the future. He was scared of losing Lupin. He was scared of losing all of this. Of laughing and smiling and hunting for treasure. He was scared of losing his happiness. He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t go back to how he was before. He didn’t want to. 

But looking down at Lupin, alive and breathing and feeling his heart beat against his chest, Jigen knew he wouldn’t have to. Because no matter what, Lupin always made it out okay. Even when it seemed impossible.

Jigen wrapped his arms around Lupin’s neck, careful not to touch any of the bruises that had formed there, and he pressed his forehead into his chest. 

There the three stayed. Even when Jigen broke into a mess of sobs, even when they all found themselves sinking to the floor, even when Lupin cracked a stupid joke that got them laughing. Eventually the three moved their small hug onto the couch. 

It was crowded and slightly uncomfortable with the mess of limbs. But it was comforting. And it was safe. 


End file.
